A Little Nutritional Anecdote

So recently I read a -very- interesting book entitled We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes. His theory about weight gain is that caloric surplus is not the correct reason for gaining weight; the problem is that the modern diet includes a surplus of refined carbohydrates, hence the obesity epidemic in America. According to Taubes, losing weight is as simple as a few nutritional modifications in the form of limiting the intake of sugar, cereals, and fruit. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm comfortable with my weight - but almost everyone has a few pounds they would like to shed. In the vein of empiricism and the Mount Everest mentality, I decided to follow his advice.

So I started cutting out his no-no foods for the most part. I stopped drinking juice or eating fruit related products, switched from milk to cream, stopped buying light butter, stopped eating bread, and portion controlled my amount of rice, pasta, and potatoes. In turn, I increased the amount of red meat and green vegetables I eat, and have started supplementing my diet with things like protein shakes.

Two weeks later, with no exercise to speak of, I have dropped six pounds and am feeling fantastic. Perhaps Atkins was right - either that or it's the world's greatest placebo. I highly recommend Taubes' book, if only to expand your repertoire of nutritional information. And for those of you seeking to drop a pound or two, perhaps it is worth a try.

Yep, Taubes is right on. I've been on a calorie restricted paleo diet for 3 months and, I shit you not, I've lost 60lbs with zero effort. I didn't even start feeling hungry under calorie restriction until the last 5lbs.

There's some interesting research out there on the Maasai and Eskimo diets that presents a pretty strong challenges to the Lipid Hypothesis. The Maasai consume diets with upwards of 40% of their calories coming form saturated fat. Dietary conventional wisdom says they should be keeling over in their 30s from massive cardiac arrest, but they have some of the lowest rates of heart disease and obesity in the world. Same goes for the Eskimo. Fascinating stuff.

For anybody who wants a quick overview of Taubes' argument, check out the following NY Times pieces:

I generally eat a very low-carb diet but every 4-6 days I have a massive carb blow-out where I basically eat whatever the fuck I want. Works for me. Having Bacon and Eggs for breakfast is for champions!

I generally eat a very low-carb diet but every 4-6 days I have a massive carb blow-out where I basically eat whatever the fuck I want. Works for me. Having Bacon and Eggs for breakfast is for champions!

Yeah, the first time I looked at that breakfast and didn't feel any fat guy guilt was awesome.

---------- Post added 2012-10-07 at 11:50 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Didactic

Well his whole theory is that people have a set genetic tolerance for carbs, it's all about finding your balance. I haven't cut them out of my diet entirely, but limiting them has done wonders.

Ah, interesting. I've been trying to entirely avoid non-veg/fruit carbs. I'll have to actually read Why We Get Fat. I'm only familiar with Taubes articles and web stuff.

Interesting. Was just today making changes to my eating habits as it appears I have reactive hyperglycemia.

Every time I eat too many carbs, a short while later, I fall asleep. Not because I am tired, but because I just crash - and basically go comatose for 4 hours. No, I'm not diebetic - been checked.

So, starting today, no more sugary drinks, just water, coffee (proper coffee from a machine, not that "instant" crap). I've always drunk my coffee without sugar, so that cuts out a lot of sugar intake by cutting out sodas and fruit juice.

Changing from white rice to brown, and a few other things. Will see soon how much it affects me. 89.5kg at 178cm. I'll be happy at a nice 80~82 kg.

Also, intend on upping my exercise regime and do some cardio as I've become a bit of a sloth regarding that.

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Weight is gained by excess. You're not about to become overweight by eating 1 to 2 pieces of fruit every day.

Im no nutricionist, but i think a person needs fruit.

The only reason we as people even need fruit is vitamin C. Now you get that shit in pretty much everything, so feel free to stop eating fruit. Dog has no need to eat fruit because it synthetises vitamin C, as does any other mammal really, we (and a few other primates) just lost the ability along the way.

I don't think I ever have a meal without rice or bread. It's hard to imagine it, really.

Personally I have this problem, I've never really had a meal without bread/pasta/rice, only when it's something with potatoes but you can't eat those all the time. An honestly I really can't imagine not having a side of something "solid/dry" to even out the meat, sauce etc.

whether I wanted to or not, becoming Diabetc about 10 years ago - forced me to understand nutrition and my own food intake better. Long gone were my lazy days of eat whatever falls in front of you. And you are absolutely right - carbs, starches, processed white stuff is terrible for your diet. Meaning white breads, white rice, white paste. people are eating massive amounts of storage sugar (carbs) and then not even needing it. They don't move(excersise) more than they do when they eat a steak and veggies, so these storage calories/ sugars are building up in the body - overloading your bloodstream with sugar your poor pancreas is like WTF dude, lay off the friggin pasta for a day please.